Parallel arcs can develop in an on-board electric system in a vehicle having an operating voltage of 24V or 48V, for example; on the one hand, these arcs limit the current so that a fusible cutout is not triggered, but on the other hand, they can cause a fire in the vehicle.
Furthermore, a serial arc that cannot be protected by a fusible cutout due to resulting current, which is lower than the load current, may develop if a cable break occurs in the on-board electric system. Such a serial arc can also cause a fire.
It is known that additional lines (e.g., measurement lines, e.g., in the form of a shielding) may be provided and coupled to an electronic evaluation system that detects a change in resistance or potential. One disadvantage here is that additional lines are expensive. Furthermore, a measurement line connected to a useful line may be difficult and complicated to contact; this can result in expensive plugs, for example. Disturbances on the measurement line may have effects that additionally reduce the reliability of the evaluation and/or make the electronic evaluation system more expensive due to additional measures such as filters, for example. This can also result in taking too long of a time to detect short circuits.